• Virginia Courts in Brief (PDF)

• General Contact Information for All Courts

• Supreme Court of Virginia
  Virginia's court of last resort, the Supreme Court reviews decisions of the circuit courts and the Court of Appeals when such appeals have been allowed, decisions from the State Corporation Commission, and certain disciplinary actions of the Virginia State Bar regarding attorneys.
• Court of Appeals of Virginia
  Virginia's intermediate appellate court, the Court of Appeals reviews decisions of the circuit courts in domestic relations matters, traffic infractions and criminal cases (except death penalty cases), appeals from administrative agencies, and decisions of the Virginia Workers' Compensation Commission.
• Circuit Court
  The Circuit Court is the general jurisdiction trial court with authority to try all types of civil and criminal cases. This court is responsible for the trial of adult and certain juvenile offenders charged with felony offenses which have been certified from the General District Court or the Juvenile and Domestic Relations General District Court. The Circuit Court also has jurisdiction over cases which have been directly indicted by the grand jury or the multi-jurisdictional grand jury and misdemeanor criminal and traffic cases appealed by the accused from the General District Court or the Juvenile and Domestic Relations General District Court.

• General District Court
  The General District Court is a limited jurisdiction trial court that hears civil cases involving amounts in controversy up to $15,000, and conducts trials for traffic infractions and misdemeanor offenses.This court tries all adult misdemeanor cases and traffic offenses and conducts preliminary hearings for felony charges brought by an arrest warrant. Misdemeanor and traffic cases which are appealed by the defendant after conviction are scheduled by the General District Court for a pre-set appeal trial date in Circuit Court.
• Juvenile and Domestic Relations District Court
  The Juvenile and Domestic Relations General District Court has jurisdiction over all criminal cases in which the victim or the accused is a juvenile and matters involving family or household members.

FIND A LOCAL COURT

• Magistrate System
  The magistrate's primary functions are to conduct probable cause hearings on complaints of criminal conduct brought by law enforcement or the general public and to determine whether an arrested person is eligible for bail.
• Circuit Court Homepages 
• General District Court Homepages 
• Juvenile and Domestic Relations District Court Homepages